Susanna du Plessis

She is a legendary figure in the history of Surinam, where she probably unjustly[citation needed] has become a metaphor of a cruel and sadistic slave owner.

Born in 1739 in Paramaribo, Susanna was the daughter of Dutch lawyer Solomon du Plessis (1705-1785) and the plantation owner Johanna Margaretha van Strijp (1706–1769).

[2] She married in 1754 at the age of 15 to Frans Laurens Willem Grand (1730–1762); he died early, the marriage having produced no children.

Already during her own lifetime, she was mentioned, though not by name, in publications describing the cruelty of slavery, which contributed to the anti-slavery movement.

[6] It is plausible that she was the subject of a smear campaign by her ex-husband and the governor, who had been a political advisory to her father.